My Heart's Confession
by Mickis
Summary: Upon the night of Cole's death, Phoebe is suddenly forced to face her true feelings about him. How 'Centennial Charmed' really should have ended. For all the PhoebeCole fans out there.
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer:** As usual, I owe nada. All the character's belong to the WB and I'm just borrowing them to correct their mistakes.  
  
**A/N:** After a long slumber I'm back with another Phoebe & Cole tribute. I have been playing with this idea for a while, and during a night when I couldn't sleep, I finally sat down and wrote it. It's how 'Centennial Charmed' should have and COULD HAVE ended. This story doesn't mess with the rest of the show, it's just correcting what made all of us hate Phoebe.  
Read 'em and weep.  
No, but seriously. Read and review. Yes, most of you out there have probably already given your opinion on Phoebe and Cole to me, but I never get tired of hearing them. Just let me know what you think of my story, okay?  
Then, of course, I can't forget **Barb6**. Thank you for beta reading my stories. It means the world to me. That even though you had received so many emails, you still took the time to clean up my writing. I owe you.  
Oh, and remember. The closing chapter is coming soon. As soon as I've written it. There isn't really any need for chapter two. I just feel it would fit with the story.  
Enjoy!

* * *

****

**My heart's confession**

****  
  
Phoebe put down her toothbrush and took one last look in the mirror before her, facing the image of her own reflection. It seemed different, everything did. Ever since they had been to his apartment. Perhaps Paige was right. Perhaps it really _was_ over.  
  
Phoebe snapped herself out of her thoughts and turned out the lights before leaving the bathroom. As she walked down the hallway towards her room she ran into Piper, who was dressed in her pyjamas, just as herself.  
  
"You're going to bed?" Piper asked, judging by Phoebe's pyjamas.  
  
"Yeah." Phoebe replied, while her mind was elsewhere.  
  
Piper, being Phoebe's big sister, knew her inside and out. She knew what she was thinking about.  
  
"It feels weird, doesn't it?" Piper spoke, mentioning what everyone was thinking about, but no one dared to speak of.  
  
Phoebe looked up to meet Piper's eyes, slightly surprised she knew. Was it that obvious?  
  
"It just seems so..."  
  
"Easy?" Piper finished her sentence.  
  
"Yeah." Phoebe nodded.  
  
"I know." Piper agreed, she had been thinking the same thing. What made this time different from all the other times? There was no insurance that he was dead. That this time he would _stay_ dead. "But Paige seems pretty certain, and even if she's wrong... we'll find out whether we like to or not."  
  
"I guess." Phoebe agreed, lowering her eyes and scratching the back of her head.  
  
"What about you?" Piper suddenly asked, causing Phoebe to send an alarming look her way.  
  
"What about me?" Phoebe questioned.  
  
"I know how much you wanted him gone but... he used to be a big part of your life. Of _all_ our lives."  
  
"He was." Phoebe admitted. "But he was evil. We weren't meant to be. And I accepted that the day I was forced to vanquish him."  
  
"Phoebe, it's okay to be sad." Piper quietly said, hoping her little sister would confide in her. If it had been Leo... evil or not, she would still miss him if he died. No matter what he put her through. "I understand if you are."  
  
"Piper, really, I'm fine. He's been dead ever since he came back from the Wasteland. And I have shed my share of tears for him already." Phoebe said.  
  
Piper doubted her sister's words and raised a brow. She had been there when Phoebe fell in love with Cole. She had seen how happy she was during the time they had together, and she had witnessed how miserable she became was once he died. They shared a past together, and even if Cole had been the very essence of evil, Phoebe had once loved him.  
  
Piper had seen it.  
  
"This last year has been hell - literally." Phoebe said, gazing into nothingness while looking back to all the pain Cole had put her and her family through. "And... now it's over." She stated, meeting Piper's eyes once again. "I can finally move on. There's no need for you to worry about me." She assured her older sibling.  
  
"Okay." Piper agreed, deciding to believe her little sister. Because even as she had been there through Phoebe and Cole's good times, she had also been there through the bad times. Through the kidnappings, the ultimatums, and finally the killings. Cole had killed innocents, and there was no coming back from that. He was a demon, a demon with innocent blood on his hands. Of course Phoebe would feel relived that he was gone. They all did.  
  
"Goodnight." Piper said as she embraced Phoebe in a warm hug.  
  
"Night." Phoebe replied, before breaking free from the hug and going into her room.  
  
Piper remained in the hallway, watching Phoebe as she left before continuing her path towards the bathroom.  
  
Perhaps Phoebe was right. Perhaps it was over and they could finally move on from the last few years of trauma.  
  
Perhaps Cole _was_ gone. 

* * *

Phoebe shut her bedroom door and walked over to the window. She spent a second admiring the stars before closing the curtains together. She then turned around to look at her bed, as thousands of memories suddenly washed over her; all of them of her and Cole.  
  
There had been a time when they had shared that bed. And now, with him dead, there would never be another one. There would be no more memories of them, everything about Cole was locked in the past now.  
  
Where it belonged.  
  
She walked over to her bed and laid down on it, safely burying herself underneath the covers. She exhaled deeply as she decided to call it a night. It had been a long day, and it was finally time to get some sleep. But for some reason, Phoebe didn't want to close her eyes. She was thinking about what Piper said. And for some reason, she couldn't stop.

_ What about you?_

_   
  
_ Why would there be anything wrong with her? Cole was finally dead. Her demonic stalker was out of the picture. She felt almost like they should be celebrating his passing. They had triumphed over evil, one of the most powerful evils they had ever come across.  
  
He was invincible for crying out loud!  
  
Then why was she still thinking about him? Why were memories of him knocking on her shoulder. Memories of him laughing, memories of him crying, memories of him telling her how much he loved her. One by one they all came back; the taste of his kisses, the depth of his eyes, the touch of his hands, the feel of his skin, the scent of his hair, the sound of his voice and the warmth of his heart.  
  
His memory was hunting her down, and there was nowhere she could go to escape it.

_ He used to be a big part of your life. Of **all** our lives._

_   
  
_ Piper was right. He had been a big part of her life. There had even been a time when he had been the most important part of it. He had lived in the house with them. They had shared a bed together, and they had shared a life. He had proposed to her and they had planned a future together. Maybe it had been stupid of her for thinking so but, she had believed she would spend the rest of her life with him.  
  
She had been pregnant with his child. Sure, it was the Source's spawn. But before the tonic, before the evil; it had been their son. Her and Cole's child. He had been the symbol of their future together, of the life they could have had. But just as their relationship, he had been poisoned with evil and finally vanquished.   
  
He never had a chance, as neither did they.  
  
All their dreams, all their hopes of a life together had been doomed. It wasn't meant to be. They weren't meant to fall in love. She was meant to vanquish him the moment she found out he was Belthazor; the demon they were hunting to kill. And she should've just thrown the damn potion. Had she done so, none of this would have happened.  
  
You can't turn a demon from evil. Evil is born into darkness and destined to die in it. You can't prevent that. You could try.  
  
And God, did she try.  
  
She had tried every way possible. But no matter what she did, evil always found its way back to him. Not even her love had been able to save them.  
  
She couldn't save him from himself.  
  
She wasn't meant to.

_Phoebe, it's okay to be sad. I understand if you are._

_  
_ It's not okay!   
  
How could it be okay to mourn someone like him. A person who had killed hundreds of innocents, hurt her family over and over again, and put her through hell.  
  
No, it's not okay to be sad about that. He was evil. Cole was a demon. A powerful demon who had been sent to kill her and her sisters.  
  
A man with no future.  
  
And yet, here she was, strangling her tears as they threatened to fall. Tears she had already shed for him. But she couldn't help it.  
  
This morning, she had woken up thinking he was invincible, alive. And now she went to bed knowing he was dead. Knowing she would never see or speak to him ever again. And never in a million years had she suspected this from herself, but she missed him.  
  
He had been hers and she had been his. They had loved each other more than life itself and she had sworn to always love him, to always fight for him. Now look what had happened. He had been corrupted by evil. Evil that had stolen so many things from her.  
  
She had lost her mother to evil, and a sister not so long ago. And now, she had even lost the love of her life to evil. Wasn't she allowed to keep anything?  
  
Damnit!  
  
He had been hers!  
  
He had been hers and they had stolen him from her! They had taken his love away from her.  
  
She and Cole had been robbed of their child and denied their future.  
  
She loved Cole and now he was dead. And the worst part was; he had died not knowing how much she loved him. He had died thinking she hated him. And as Paige had told her; it had even been herself throwing the potion.  
  
Everything was so twisted, so wrong. Why couldn't they just get married and stay happily ever after? Their son could have been born into a loving family with a cousin around the same age.  
  
Everything could have been so perfect.   
  
She and Cole would raise him together. There were so many things they had been denied.  
  
They had been denied his first breath, his first smile, his first words, his first steps, his first day in school, his first homework, his first girlfriend, and even their first grandchild.  
  
Oh, he would've been such a beautiful baby.  
  
He would have the most beautiful tiny little fingers, the cutest little nose and his father's beautiful, blue eyes. He would have been born any time now, soon. And they would begin the rest of their lives together.  
  
But she had lost them both, both to evil.  
  
Instead, she laid here by herself, in the bed he used to sleep in.  
  
She wished she could turn back time. Rewind the clock so she could have him there next to her, where he belonged.  
  
God, she had been so stupid for rejecting him when he was still around. But she had been so scared. Scared that if she offered her heart to him once again, he would only break it. It was all because of his betrayals. She couldn't trust him. She couldn't love him. She didn't have the courage to.  
  
Ironically, he had been the one to build her faith in love. And he had been the one who in the end destroyed it.  
  
He had changed her.  
  
Before she met him her heart was closed. Everyone she knew eventually left. She never let love inside because of the fear of getting abandoned once more. But with Cole...  
  
Oh, it had all been different. _He_ was different. He made her want to take the chance. Their relationship taught her that you had to fight for the ones you loved. And with Cole, it had all been worth it. Because she trusted him with her heart, knowing he would never do anything to damage it.  
  
She had been wrong.  
  
No one had ever hurt her as badly as he had. All his lies and betrayals tore down their relationship part from part, until she was only left with insecurity and a broken heart.  
  
The heart he broke.  
  
The heart she had given to him - mind, body and soul.  
  
How could she ever let him back inside, after what he did to her? He had been the one person she trusted the most. And when you can't even trust in that _one _person, then who can you trust?  
  
It's just like they say; It is not your enemies that hurt you the most, it is the ones you love.  
  
And Phoebe knew why, from experience.  
  
Because your enemies don't carry the key to your heart. Only your loved ones do. Therefor they are the only ones able to break it. With a closed heart you can never get hurt. Yes, it's cowardly to lock everyone outside. But at least it's safe.  
  
Had she only locked Cole outside, and never let him in, he wouldn't have been able to hurt her as badly as he did. And she wouldn't lie here in bed, on the night of his death, weeping for the life they lost.  
  
Mourning the love she lost to evil.  
  
Because she was mourning him, even if she didn't want to. She had pretended for so long that he meant nothing to her.  
  
Never had and never would.  
  
But you can only lie to your heart for so long. Ultimately the gates will open, and along with the endless tears, memories of what used to be pour out. Memories of what could have been.  
  
God, had he only stayed good...  
  
Had only heaven smiled upon them and allowed him to stay good. But she knew evil would always be out to get him. It had only been a matter of time until it caught up with him.  
  
Had she only seen it sooner..  
  
The Source took over her soulmate and she hadn't noticed. Had she only opened her eyes to the truth and seen the true identity of the man she went to bed with every night. Had she done so, she might have been able to save him. There could have been a spell in the Book of Shadows that drove away spirits from possessed bodies. And even if there wasn't, she could have written one herself.  
  
Had she _only_ seen it sooner...  
  
But she didn't.  
  
She didn't see the evil that corrupted Cole. And he wasn't able to remain good.  
  
Because they weren't meant to be.  
  
Just like she had said before.  
  
But she never wanted to be right.  
  
If there was one thing in her life she wished she was wrong about, it was that. Was there one thing she wished she could have kept, it was him. Was there one thing she wished to claim as hers, it was their love, their future.  
  
But no one ever asked her of what her wishes were.  
  
It didn't matter. Because in the good vs. evil fight, demons and witches were destined to fight on opposite sides.  
  
Good and evil were doomed to stay enemies.  
  
And it didn't matter how much they loved each other. It didn't matter that they had planned a future of children and happiness, and promised to grow old together. The rules applied to everyone. And it was obvious that some higher power had done everything to keep her and Cole apart.  
  
Only to follow the stupid rules!  
  
It had never been up to them to decide. The choice had never been in their hands. They had been doomed from the moment they laid eyes on each other. Ever since the first time her heart raced for him, ever since their first kiss, they were cursed to fail.  
  
Their relationship was destined to end.  
  
And it hurt like hell.  
  
It hurt like hell knowing they never had a chance.  
  
They loved each other so much. He walked away from a century of evil and faced endless of demons for her. While she went against everything she knew and broke every single rule written, to be with him.  
  
They fought through blood and tears for their love.  
  
And they lost.  
  
Phoebe buried her face in her pillow to silence her tears. But she had gone beyond crying and was now fighting for air. The tears ran so rapidly that there wasn't even any time to breathe. She sobbed while her entire body shook hysterically from the tears. It felt as though her head was burning up and no matter what she did, the tears wouldn't stop coming.  
  
She looked over the side of the bed where Cole used to sleep, as if she wished to see him badly enough, she would. But to her disappointment, the side remained empty. Just like her heart.  
  
How would she ever be able to smile again?

* * *

Suddenly, the door to her bedroom slowly opened, and Phoebe held her breath, staring at the door, hoping that maybe - just _maybe_ - a higher power had listened to her silent prayer and sent Cole back to her.  
  
Given them a second chance.  
  
But as the person behind the door appeared, the tears washed over her once again.  
  
"Phoebe?" Piper carefully asked as she peeked inside.  
  
Phoebe looked at her older sister with puffy eyes, floods of tears falling down from them. She didn't know if she felt relieved or upset that Piper came in. She didn't want her sister to see her this way. Not when she had been so strong during this whole 'Cole ordeal'.  
  
"What's the matter?" Piper asked, concerned as she stepped inside, walking along the faint stream of light that escaped from the hallway through the slightly opened door, heading towards the left side of Phoebe's bed.  
  
It killed her seeing her little sister like this. She hadn't seen Phoebe like this since...  
  
Since Cole died.  
  
Phoebe's tears kept falling as she remained silent, not wanting to tell her sister the reason for her behaviour. Even though Piper was the one who said she would understand if she was sad.  
  
"Honey, you can tell me." Piper said, kneeling in front of her crying sister.  
  
She brushed some of Phoebe's wet hair away from her face, while caressing her cheek to encourage her to open up. She didn't want to be excluded from Phoebe's pain. They were sisters, for better _and_ for worse.  
  
Phoebe sat up and looked into Piper's eyes, knowing in her heart that she really _would_ understand. She could confide in Piper with anything. And she decided to tell her the truth.  
  
Phoebe took a deep breath, strangling her tears long enough to talk.  
  
"I.. I still love him." She confessed.  
  
Piper stared at Phoebe as every single memory of Phoebe's rejecting behaviour towards Cole started making sense.  
  
She did still love him.  
  
And how couldn't she? After everything they had been through...  
  
Piper embraced her weeping little sister. Hoping that on some level, her love and support made this just a little easier on her.  
  
"Of course you do." Piper spoke softly, caressing the back of Phoebe's head as she held her.  
  
Phoebe let all her masks fall as she cried on Piper's shoulder. All her denial and all the lies were destroyed as she wept, releasing all the hidden feelings within her. She had suppressed her love for him for so long, and it had taken his death to set it free.  
  
Piper noticed another person standing in the doorway.  
  
Paige.  
  
The youngest Charmed One witnessed her sisters embracing each other, unsure of what to do. Maybe she was disturbing a sister moment? So she remained frozen at the doorway, unable look away from the scene.  
  
Piper slowly waved her arm for Paige to enter, while making sure she was still holding Phoebe.  
  
Paige slowly walked inside, climbing on top of Phoebe's bed from behind her.  
  
"I miss him so much." Phoebe said, shaking from her tears.  
  
"I know." Piper answered, doing her best to comfort her heartbroken sister  
  
Paige knew what Phoebe meant by 'him'. It had always been him. And it always would be.  
  
Phoebe loved Cole, despite of all the awful things he had done. And Paige had practically bragged about killing him.  
  
How insensitive of her. She should have known better. Even if she hated Cole from the bottom of her heart, she should have known Phoebe still loved him. And she should have respected that.  
  
Once Paige reached up to her sisters, she softy caressed Phoebe's head, wishing she somehow could take the pain away.  
  
Phoebe turned around and looked at Paige, instantly embracing her.  
  
"I'm sorry." Paige apologized, both for her behaviour and for Phoebe's loss.  
  
It wasn't much, but it was all she could do.  
  
But as she felt Phoebe holding her tighter, she realised those words did more than she thought.  
  
"So am I." Phoebe sobbed, mentioning to her behaviour towards Cole.  
  
They had _all_ treated him badly.  
  
He had come back to her, asking for her love and forgiveness. And she had just pushed him away, as if he had never mattered. And she could never regret anything more.  
  
She was _so_ sorry.   
  
What an ending to their glorious love story. He was dead... and she was sorry.  
  
And he would never now.

* * *

In the corner of the dark bedroom a faint figure stood, silently witnessing the scene before him. Silently crying tears of his own.  
  
Her regret meant everything to him. She still loved him and that filled his entire being with hope, joy and devastation.  
  
Hope; that it hadn't all been for nothing. His death had at least forced her into confronting her true feelings for him. Forced her to face her love for him.  
  
Joy; that he could finally leave in peace. He knew that she loved him with all of her heart. Just as much as he loved her. And he knew that when he left, there would be someone that missed him more than he could ever hope for.  
  
Devastation; that in spite of their endless love for each other; they could never be together. It was time for him to move on. Move on to a place where all he had of her were memories. And her aching tears reminded him of what he was forced to leave behind.  
  
Their love.  
  
He spent a final moment, studying the woman he loved as she wept in her sisters' arms, memorizing every single little thing about her; the taste of her kisses, the depth of her eyes, the touch of her hands, the feel of her skin, the scent of her hair, the sound of her voice and the warmth of her heart.  
  
When he was done, he stored her deep inside his heart where she was safe.  
  
Where time couldn't touch her and doubt couldn't change her. Where his love for her could live on forever.  
  
Cole then closed his eyes, causing a fresh tear to fall down his face, and left his old life behind.

* * *


	2. Part 2

**Author's Note:**_Thank you,**Barb**, for beta reading this. You're the best! As for the rest of you, thanks a bunch for the lovely reviews. Please don't forget to leave one this time, too. Enjoy._

* * *

**PART II**

Phoebe woke up to the sun shining in from parts of the window, where the curtains weren't entirely closed together. A tiny ray of light split the floor of her room in two. Usually, she never paid any attention to the sun when waking up, but it was Sunday, and she had no place she had to go. Besides, it was the first morning without Cole. The first of many.

Yes, it had been a long time since they shared a bed, but that didn't mean she couldn't sense his presence gone. For this time, he really was gone.

She felt it in her heart.

There was an empty hole there that hadn't been there before... when he was alive.

Phoebe lifted her head from her pillow, feeling how her face was slightly stuck to the fabric, where her tears had dried during the night. Her face felt sore and itchy almost.

She hadn't cried like that in a long time. The last time was when she had to vanquish Cole, when he was the Source. And although she had swore to herself that she wouldn't cry like that for anyone ever again, she had broken that promise last night.

For him.

Phoebe sat herself up in the bed, staring at the ray of light across her floor. She then dried her clammy face with her soft covers, wiping away the last of her tears. But waking up with traces of tears felt different this time. It felt good. Because she needed last night. She really needed to cry, for all those times she had forced herself not to.

It felt as if she had just read the last page of her and Cole's book, and she was now closing it together, with a bittersweet feeling tickling in her heart.

They had indeed reached their final page. And it might not have ended with her and her prince living happily ever after, but she still loved that book with every inch of her soul. Because, thinking back to the chapters in it, her heart filled up with love. Because her tall, dark stranger had indeed swept her off her feet.

Phoebe wandered through the following chapters of their book, smiling once remembering the memories of them together. They had shone with such a powerful light, that even the sun had been jealous. There had been times as they had been in each other's arms, when it felt like they could never stop smiling. They had shared nights of such passion, that even the moon itself had stayed up a little longer, just to admire them.

Together, they had conquered the world with their love. Breaking all rules and writing new ones. They had written history, by just loving each other.

And she would never change the memory of him for anything in the world. No matter what evil took from her life; her hope, her future, her soulmate. No matter what evil had stolen from her it could never steal her memories. She would carry them with her through eternity. Even in her next life, a small part of him and their love would live on, cherished in her heart.

Upon wandering down memory lane, Phoebe suddenly thought of something. She peeked her naked feet out from the covers of the bed, and sat them on the cold surface of her floor. She lifted the covers off her and rose from her bed. As if following the notes of an old melody, a melody she hadn't danced to in forever, it seemed, she walked across the floor towards her closet. Once she stepped on the ray of light, she felt the floor was a little warmer, right on that spot. She looked at the closet for a brief moment before reaching out with her hand and opening the wooden door. It made a whispering creek and Phoebe carefully peeked inside, lowering her eyes towards the bottom of the closet.

She bent down, resting her body's weight on her feet, and slowly reached inside the closet, feeling her way towards the right corner of it. There, wrapped in the darkness, covered by a folded blanket, her fingers came upon the surface of a small wooden chest.

Phoebe grabbed the chest steadily with both hands, and she carefully lifted it out of her closet, where she had been hiding it for so long. Once the chest was out in the open, Phoebe put it upon the left side of her bed and swiftly turned around to close the closet, carefully, not to wake anyone.

She then climbed onto her bed, placing herself in front of the chest and crossing her legs, burying her feet underneath the fabric of her satin pyjamas. She then remained this way for a while, sitting there, staring at the chest. She didn't know if she was ready to open it yet. She had kept it closed for so long, and had honestly never believed this day would come. The day she pushed herself to look back.

For a long time, she just studied it. Its dark wooden material, with the curvy shaped lid, closing together with the bottom by a golden lock. Phoebe traced her hand along the top of it, feeling its smooth touch against her gentle fingers.

It had been Grams' chest. Grams had gotten it from her mother when she was a little girl, and she had kept her dearest belongings inside it. Phoebe had found it in the attic after Grams had passed away, after moving in with her sisters. She had secretly taken the chest to her own room and placed it inside her closet, where Prue or Piper wouldn't look.

It had stood there for a few years - empty. She hadn't began putting objects in it until she met Cole.

And she hadn't looked at them since she lost him.

However, the time had come to open it, and Phoebe traced her fingers towards the opening of the chest, flipping the tiny golden lock open. She took a deep breath, as if to prepare herself, and then opened the lid with her two hands clutched around it.

With trembling hands, she reached inside the chest, grabbing a piece of folded red fabric. Once lifting it, the object unfolded itself, and one of Cole's sweaters revealed itself. She had secretly stolen it from him, not really wanting to tell him it was for her hidden chest of memories. Phoebe looked at it for a second, before putting it against her face, beneath her nose where she took in the scent of her ex husband. And just by smelling it, her heart skipped a few beats, remembering the feeling of burying her face in the safety of his chest. She could almost hear his heart beat against her ear, as it had done when she used to rest her head against his strong body.

Almost.

Phoebe felt her throat dry up and her eyes stinging from fresh tears.

With a final squeeze of her hands, Phoebe put the sweater down in her lap. She took a moment to gather her composure before reaching inside the chest again. This time, her eyes spotted a tiny, blue box; its surface smooth and soft. Her trembling hand reached inside the chest, knowing with her every breath what it was reaching for. And before she could bring it out of the chest, she was thrown into a premonition, the very instant she touched it.

* * *

_"What's that?" I asked, staring at the little box he played with in his hands, although I knew what it was. After all, it wasn't the first time he did this. Still, I had not seen it coming._

_"This?" Cole asked, swiftly raising his hand, revealing the tiny object in it._

_"Yeah." I quickly confirmed, for a second raising my brows, as if nodding_

_"It's just a little something I've been waiting for the right moment to give you." Cole replied, stepping closer to me, piercing his blue eyes into mine before returning his focus on the box._

_I nervously glanced at it, my heart racing like crazy once he opened it. Inside hid a beautiful diamond engagement ring of the most expensive white gold. For a moment, I wondered how he had been able to afford it. Without a job and all._

_"It's not your Grams', but..." He admitted, thinking back to the memory of proposing with her old ring, then looking back at me. "Hopefully it's not cursed." A slight chuckle escaped him._

_"I-I don't think now is the time." I stuttered, mentioning the current mess the Source had created. Who's to say we all won't die tonight?_

_Cole looked at me for a second, as if contemplating my statement, before removing the ring from its box. _

_"Actually, I think now is the perfect time." He whispered, gently sliding the ring onto my slender finger, brushing my hand slightly with his fingers when taking my hand in his._

_I couldn't help but smile at the beautiful moment we shared, even if everything else seemed dark. I looked into my fianc's eyes as he spoke of his love for me._

_"This way no matter what happens, you'll always know that I love you." He said, burying his blue eyes deep into my very soul._

_I sighed, knowing this ring might just be the only thing left of him, if my premonition turned out to be true. I gently touched the ring with my thumb and took a moment to admire it._

_"It's beautiful.." I admitted, and for a second I surrendered to the moment. "Now you have to go."_

_"No, I'm staying here with you." Cole said firmly, his mind set on his decision._

_"Do you want me to watch you die, too?" I asked, raising my voice at the thought of his limp body in my arms._

_"If that's what it takes to save you - yeah." Cole answered, not backing out._

_"No, but I'm supposed to save you." I argued. "That's why I got that premonition."_

_"Not necessarily." Cole said, taking a moment to think about it. "You know as well as I do you're not meant to stop every premonition." He gently looked into my scared eyes, as if trying to calm me. "Some are just meant to prepare you for what's to come."_

* * *

Once back in reality, Phoebe felt her eyes burning from tears. That hadn't just been a memory. Everything had been so vivid. It had been as if she had stood face to face with him, and she remembered how she felt that very moment once he gave her that ring. The moment he proposed to her.

Phoebe carefully opened the box, choking a sob when she spotted that very same ring.

_This way no matter what happens, you'll always know that I love you._

Phoebe gently gripped the ring with her right thumb and index finger, cherishing the feel of it against her skin. She put the ringbox down onto her lap, placing it upon his sweater, never letting her sight off the ring. Her eyes began to water up, and Phoebe covered her mouth with her left hand to drown the sobs that threatened to come out. But she could only postpone her pain for so long, and once blinking, hot tears trailed down her face. And Phoebe tightly shut her eyes to the empty world he had left her in.

After staring at the ring; playing with it between her fingers, Phoebe slowly put it back in its box, not being able to take much more. After giving the soft blue box one last caress with her thumb, Phoebe placed it in her lap.

Crying, she peeked into the chest, recognizing a framed picture inside it. She reached inside the chest, grabbing the picture with her right hand and carefully held it up in front of her. When looking at it, the tears started coming harder, for they looked so happy. It was as if their happiness had been frozen in time and kept inside that frame.

She could almost hear their laughter when looking at it, recalling the moment Piper had taken the picture of them. They had made copies, one for her and the other for Cole. And she remembered seeing his copy in his penthouse the night before, when they had gone there to see if he really was gone. He must've felt the same way once looking at the photograph.

Bittersweet.

She had put away the picture when finding out Cole was back from the Wasteland, along with the rest of her memories of him.

A hot tear escaped her chin and fell upon the glass of the picture, sliding down it. Phoebe dried the tear with her finger and placed the frame onto her bed, the picture upwards.

She then returned her attention to the chest, spotting an envelope inside it. After rubbing her hands against her pj's she hesitantly grabbed the letter, lifting it up from the safety of the chest. Trembling, Phoebe opened up the envelope, preparing herself for the pain once reading it. She enfolded it and held it steadily with both hands, and after a deep breath, her eyes traced across the paper, reading Cole's hand-written words to her.

_Phoebe._

_If I'm dead right now, I know it was at your hand. No one else in heaven or hell had power over me. Please don't cry. I was dead before I met you. I was born the day you loved me, and my love for you will keep me alive, forever._

Phoebe let go of the letter with her left hand, placing it over her mouth as her sobs echoed in the peaceful morning. She had to have read that letter a hundred times, and still it hurt as much as it did the first time she read it.

Her tears fell freely down the traces earlier tears had left upon her cheeks. This time, Phoebe surrendered to them and put down the letter in her lap, along with the rest of it. Her head almost burned up from her tears, and Phoebe rested her face in her hands, crying.

Her shoulder rapidly jumped up and down, as her sobs became louder by each breath.

After she had wept for a couple of minutes, concentrating on the memory of him, the tears had began to ease. Phoebe gently dried her face with her already wet hands, and prepared herself to put away the things. She grabbed the belongings in her lap, slowly placing them in the chest while still crying, silently. Then, as she noticed the frame on her bed, Phoebe thought of something better.

Phoebe grabbed the frame, slowly rising from her bed, and walked over to the other side of it. There, on her bedside table, she placed the picture where it belonged.

"I love you." She silently whispered, her voice frail from her tears.

She wasn't planning on forgetting Cole this time. This time, she would carry him with her, always. And that picture was simply there to remind her of the love she lost. She wasn't going to turn into that bitter old woman she became in the future.

Sure, thinking of Cole now was unbearably painful. But as time went along, his memory would bring a smile to her face. For they had loved each other more than life itself. And she had had the pleasure of spending a few years of their lives together. And in that moment Phoebe knew, that when her last breath left her lips, she would still love him as much as she did when he proposed to her in this very room. She would indeed love him forever, if perhaps not longer.

* * *

_Demon and witch_

_Heaven and hell, black and white_

_Autumn and spring, darkness and light_

_On separate sides, a life they had_

_For opposite reasons, a battle they lead_

_Still, against all odds, rules and fate_

_They mixed together; love and hate_

_But as the sun never shines, in the darkness of night_

_Their love couldn't live, through their destiny's fight_

_Yet their legend lives on; a scar from love's stitch_

_For there once was an item, of demon and witch_


End file.
